A New Mask in Town
by madmarie
Summary: There's a new mysterious thief in Gotham, first giving the Bat team a run for their money and then maybe becoming a little more than just another criminal. Characters based on The Batman cartoons, rated for later violence and language
1. First Encounter

Okay so this is the first fanfic I've put up anywhere, not sure if anyones going to even read it never mind like it but hey, might as well put it out there anyway.

So I'd really appreciate feedback so please rate and review =^_^=

(edited, I realised after a while I had given Sarah the same surname as Catwoman, they are not related, it was unintentional so I've gone back and changed it now :D )

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Chapter 1 - First Encounter

The screen in the batcave was covered in open files. The Dynamic Duo had been looking into a large number of robberies that had been happening in Gotham over the last month.

"It's gotta be the same perp" said Robin, punching one gloved fist into his other palm, "They're all too clean, no-one sees them come or go and the only thing different in the morning is that the stuffs gone. No way two people are that good."

"That's the problem," replied Batman "They barely leave a trace, even I had a hard time seeing how they did it."

"Had? So you did find something?" Robin pouted, "Why do you never tell me stuff"

"It's not much yet, but the glass on top of the cabinets is slightly melted at the joints, they most likely cut their way in and then reseal the cabinet afterwards. But that doesn't help know who they are or where they are going to hit next."

Alfred came down the stairs from Wayne manor. "Sorry to interrupt Master Bruce but if Master Dick doesn't leave soon he will be late for school."

"Aww man!" Said Dick Grayson as he took of the black mask covering his eyes "I thought I might get away with it this time" He hurried off to his room to get changed out of his red and green crime fighting outfit.

"If you will pardon my input Master Bruce" said the butler "but could this not be Catwoman's work, she is a cat burglar after all."

"Maybe Alfred" said Bruce Wayne as he pulled of his signature black cowl "but it doesn't seem like her sort of job, they're not cat-related at all and she likes being chased. Whoever this is doesn't want to be seen."

- At Dick's school, later that day -

The bell rang out through the halls as students piled out into the hallways, heading out now that the school day was finally over. Dick gathered up his bag, vaulted over his desk and dashed for the door, eager to get back to the batcave. He then managed to smash right into someone who was coming in and knock both of them to the floor.

"Ow," he said rubbing his head where it had hit into the teachers desk "Who…Oh gosh sorry Sarah!" Realizing it was his girlfriend he had knocked over Dick scrambled to his feet and helped her up. Sarah and Dick had been going out for about a month, they got together at a school disco and both figured it had been such a great night that they'd give it a shot.

"Oh, it's all right, I was just hoping to catch you before I went to gymnastics practice." Sarah Kacy was on the gymnastics squad and had the figure to go with it, she was just shorter than Dick, with a willowy frame and long brown hair that was so dark it was almost black. Her eyes were a deep green and they sparkled mischievously as she looked at her boyfriend. "I was wanting to run into you but this was a bit literal. You running off home again?"

"Yeah" said Dick, running his hand guiltily through his hair, "I promised I'd be back early to help with some stuff."

Sarah sighed at him, "You always seem to be busy with something, you'd better make time for me sometime Dick, or I might think you don't care" She started looking very annoyed at him, but Dick knew when she was teasing him. He swooped closer and gave her a peck on the cheek, distracting her as he twisted round her to get to the door.

"See you later Sarah" he joked as he disappeared down the corridor. Sarahs scowl turned into the exasperated look Dick so easily brought out. She couldn't even pretend to be mad at him but he seemed so hard to pin down at times. She glanced at her watch before hurrying off to gymnastics.

- Gotham Museum, that night –

"Why are we here exactly?" Robin asked Batman as they hid themselves among the roofbeams of Gotham Museum. From their position the two crimefighters had a good view of the entire main hall and could easily tell if there was someone there if the lights were on. However being closed the museum had turned of all the power except the security system that was supposed to keep anyone out. Batman and Robin had snuck in before the museum closed and had been hiding since and they both knew that the mysterious thief could easily do the same, if they were coming at all.

"Because," explained Batman "There was a cyberspike into thier system earlier today, someone hacked in and got a full diagnostic of the building. It was from a public access computer so we can't trace who it was but it's a fair guess that they will be here tonight." The two fell silent as the security guard passed through the hall for a final check. His torch beam passed over glass cases and displays full of fabulous jewels and artifacts for the new display of Egyptian relics. In the corner stood a row of boxes that hadn't been unpacked yet covered with a large sheet. The guard left, locking the door behind him and activating the overnight security. Batman drew out a thermal scanner to help keep an eye on the hall, although there was still just enough to see by it would be much easier to find anyone by their heat signature than by eye alone.

Half an hour later there was still nothing to see by man or machine. Just as Robin was about to suggest leaving a red flash suddenly appeared on the scanner in Batman's hand. Looking down to the corresponding area of the hall the pair saw the sheet covering the boxes lift away, the only sound heard a metallic rustling as something was stuffed back into an open box by a dark figure. Robin made to jump down and confront them but Batman caught his arm. "Wait, I want to see what they do." He said in a quiet but commanding tone. It was too dark to make out details but the duo were able to follow the thief's progress as they swiftly made their way to a small cabinet at the back of the room.

As the figure approached the cabinet they clenched their hand into a fist, in response four shard blades slid out of the elbow high long gloves and settled against the leather coated fingers. In the other hand was a small light, allowing a better view of what to do. Very carefully the thief ran a blade along the side of the cabinet where two panes of glass joined, then along the top as well. It was then a simple matter of levering the glass away and reaching in to take the golden amulet from inside. Before replacing the pane the thief took a small bottle from the belt slung round their waist and ran the chemical inside over the exposed edges, heating them just enough to melt the glass slightly before pressing them back together just as they had been.

Above Batman nodded and he and Robin dropped down behind the intruder. Despite their almost silent landing the thief turned almost instantly, directing the small torch directly into their eyes, blinding the pair momentarily. Taking this opportunity the figure dashed towards the door, sweeping dust off the nearest case into Batman's eyes, delaying him furthur, but Robin got there in time, still blinking the flash out of his eyes. The black-clad figure swirled round, catching Robin a kick to his side, knocking him off balance. As Robin rolled back up again he saw the thief snatch his zipwire from where it had fallen on the floor on his way down from the ceiling. Batman lunged just as the thief activated the winch and went rocketing upwards. Wasting no time Batman fired his own wire and followed suit. But then the figure did something unexpected, halfway up they swung their body round and managed to land feet first in an air vent hidden in the shadows of a pillar mid-way up the wall. There was no way Batman would be able to follow, clearly the burgler was smaller and more flexible than had been expected. Robin attempted to follow but Batman called him back. "You'll never find them, those ducts will be like a maze, whoever they are they will have examined those plans and worked out the best escape route. Its most likely that is how they got out of all the other crime scenes without passing any cameras or alarms." The pair quickly headed outside but could see no sign of the thief and the broken grill on the roof was the only evidence to show where they had left from. "Did you get a good look Robin, I still had dust in my eyes."

"No, it was too dark. But from what I could see they seemed to have a, well a tail."

- Elsewhere –

Once safely away from Gotham Museum the thief stopped to rest on top of a building. The zipwire contraption that they had taken from Robin was definitely going to be useful. It had already allowed a quick escape by rooftop. The thief moved on until reaching the safety of their home. Once inside the black-clad figure removed the costume that they wore just in case they did have encounters like tonight. Finally they reached up and took of the black mask. A strand of incredibly dark brown hair fell across a glittering green eye as Sarah Kacy removed her mask and stared at the Egyptian ankh she held clasped in her hand.


	2. Second Chance

OK, so here's chapter two. I should be getting the next few chapters up fairly rapidly now that my exams are done.

I'd really like to know what people think, good or bad, so please review! =^.^=

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Chapter 2 – Second Chance

- The Batcave –

Robin came down the elevator into the batcave, still pondering the encounter of the night before. Despite their best efforts Batman and Robin seemed to be no closer to finding out who the new costumed thief was. It had been so dark and quick that their memories were no help and an examination of the museum security footage revealed only that the thief was through enough to have sabotaged the cameras beforehand. Batman sat in front of the massive computer screen along one wall, staring at a group of images, typing away at the keyboard.

"It's as I thought, the items aren't at random, they're all connected." Batman said aloud, not waiting to be asked. "It's not concrete but they are all supposed to have been stolen from the original owners." Batman had been convinced that there was a reason for the specific items being taken because of the ankh the night before. The thief had made straight for that cabinet and could have taken far more valuable items but took the small golden object instead.

"So what good does that do us, loads of stuff in museums is stolen." Robin sounded exasperated.

"All the cases have some sort of tie to K-Core, they moved their main office to Gotham about two months ago, the robberies started about three weeks later."

"Good enough for me, lets go bust them for it then." Robin exclaimed as he bounded over towards the Batmobile.

"It's not that simple, in all the cases it seems to be K-Core that has come off better, establishing rightful ownership either for themselves or for clients with their financial backing. They would have nothing to gain from this. No whoever is behind the thefts is not working for K-Core."

Before having the chance to discuss it further the batcave was filled with the batwave signal, a flashing red dot on the map showing that the Bank alarm had been set off. Both of the masked crime fighters immediately headed for the batmobile, but doubted they would get there in time.

- Gotham Bank –

"Crap" There wasn't much room in Sarah's head for eloquent thoughts at this point, somehow the police had know where she was going to be that night. She had taken the plans for this place weeks ago so it wasn't that. A searchlight passed over the balcony she was perched on, thankfully they still hadn't spotted her but if she moved at all they'd be on her in an instant. There were men already placed on the roof and a helicopter circling the building as well so the zipwire wouldn't be much help unless she could get away from the building first. "Crap"

Sarah decided she had to take her chances, she dashed out from behind the statue on the balcony and skittered along the stone ledge that ringed the building, planning to leap off at the end and try to swing to the next building before getting caught. Just as she reached halfway three bright spotlights flared onto her position, blinding her. She had to stop running or risk losing her footing altogether. A policeman's voice boomed out from a megaphone down below telling her to come down quietly but Sarah wasn't even listening, casting around for some other escape route. It was now that the police got their first proper look at the thief. Her dark hair billowed out in the wind, framing her pale face. On her head was a pair of cat's ears, not unlike manga neko characters. She wore a tight fitting black t-shirt that reached all the way down to her full-length black leather skinny trousers. It was the tightness of the t-shirt that made it clear to all watching that they were in fact dealing with a girl. A dark grey, pouched belt was slung over her hips, higher on one side than the other and she wore ankle high, flat, black boots. Her arms bore elbow high black gloves and her eyes were covered by a black mask. The most interesting bit was the sleek black tail that lashed behind her, seeming to move around by itself. Sarah saw cameras flashing below, assuring her that she would be splashed all over the papers tomorrow whether she got away or not. The helicopter dropped lower and Sarah saw her chance, she fired the grapple at the rungs beneath the helicopter, cursing as the wire tangled round the rung instead of just attaching, she would have to leave it behind now. Swinging out Sarah managed to sail past the police blockade and rolled as she hit the ground, bullets began to fly past her as the more trigger-happy policemen began firing. Sarah leapt to her feet and darted into the nearest ally. She quickly launched herself at the walls and flipped over into the next street. In no time at all she had vanished into the darkness.

- The next day –

Sarah winced as she sat down to breakfast, although having a neural controlled mechanical tail was useful at times the point where the circuits connected still hurt for a while even after she took it off. The spots behind her ears where the cat ears attached stung when she went swimming but it was worth it for the extended hearing she got, the bat team would have easily caught her in the museum if it weren't for the tech she wore. Also it looked really cool. It seemed that was going to be more of a factor now after the escapades of the night before, looking at the newspaper Sarah noticed the headline dominating the front page. "New masked villain in town, Blackcat strikes again"

"Hmm" she mused, "Blackcat, I quite like the sound of that."


	3. Third Time Lucky

Ok, so the holidays weren't such a great opportunity to update, to many other ways to waste time. Now that I'm supposed to be working again updating becomes a viable option to studying so here we are.

Thank you to my first reviewer, it made me so much more motivated knowing people were interested in what happened next. Maybe more reviews will motivate me more to release faster. (nudge nudge, wink wink) Yeah I know some people dont want Dick to have a girlfriend but trust me, it matters later.

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-Gotham, at night-

Blackcat slid along the girder, leaping off at the end and reaching for the ladder above her head. She then swung her legs up, scrambling to the top of the ladder before back flipping away from the wall, flinging out her shurikens as she fell, and landed in a crouch on the top of a water tank. She had come to the top of a building that was having some work done, the construction site made for a perfect training ground. Quietly she cursed herself as she saw the spread that she had made with her weapons, her aim was way off tonight. Blackcat had come to train that night because it was a great way to vent her anger; it had not been a good day. Making her way easily to the top of the site she mused over what had happened. After her headline debut the school had been abuzz with gossip and speculation. You would think that living in Gotham people would be used to the costumed crime that happened on a regular basis but it seemed that a new appearance was still interesting enough to be exciting. Sarah flopped onto her back with a sigh, her legs dangling over the edge of the small block that sat on top of the roof. This was the highest point nearby and when she lay down and looked at the sky she couldn't see any other buildings at all. If there had been stars twinkling above it couldn't have been more peaceful, but it was still Gotham City so instead the sky took on an amber glow from all the lights around, with only the occasional satellite shining through. It wasn't the gossiping that had been so bad in itself, a lot of it had been flattering although she didn't want to even think of what some of the jocks had said about her outfit too much (it had to be tight so that it wouldn't snag on anything) it was the way Dick had talked about her.

Robin was out on patrol by himself that night. He had begged Batman to let him patrol alone tonight; he really needed to be on his own. He was just so pissed off at Sarah right now. Why had she got so mad at him earlier? He was hoping for something to take his mind off it. As he passed through the developing district Robin faintly heard some dull metallic clunks from above. Curious, Robin shot himself up on a zipline to see who was messing around in a construction site at night.

Blackcat was still lying on her back, her eyes closed trying to ignore what was going on in her head. Earlier that day at school when everyone had been talking at the end of class she had overheard Dick and his friends discussing Blackcat. "It's not even worth talking about, I mean big deal another petty thief, what's so special about that." Sarah had been surprised that it was Dick speaking, she knew that he didn't know that it was her, but still she was fairly annoyed that he thought so little of her. She decided that she should join in as well. "She seems pretty special to me, I mean she's slipped away from right under the cops noses, and from the bats too." Dick had looked really annoyed at that. "Besides maybe she has a reason, what are you judging so quickly for?" Sarah knew that she shouldn't be pressing the issue but she felt that if at least Dick could give Blackcat the benefit of the doubt she would feel much better about what she was doing. Dick gave her a cold stare, the rest of the group all suddenly figured that they had something important to do and made themselves scarce. "Seriously Sarah, you actually think that a thief might have a reason other that just wanting fame and money, please all Blackcat is, is another criminal and no one should kid themselves otherwise." It hurt. Dick was the one person Sarah had thought she could maybe talk about all this with but he was being such a jerk about it, Sarah knew that he didn't know it was her but that didn't make it any better. She was suddenly furious. "How could you know anything about it, what gives you the right to decide everything about her like that!" she yelled at him before storming off. As soon as she got back she got changed into Blackcat, maybe she could calm down out in the city, and that had led her up here.

She groaned as she slid off the roof onto the section below, gathering up her shurikens. She had no intention of actually hurting anyone badly but if she could get really good they could be an excellent distraction and maybe pin stuff down as well. She had had a few more encounters with the bat team, even running into Batgirl once as well. It was fun, in a weird way. Now that she wasn't trying to hide from them as much she got to have a bit of a joke, particularly with Robin. It was too easy to bait him into a fight. Throwing the metal stars again she hit two of the three wooden beams that she had set up, completely missing the third. Cursing quietly she went to pick them up.

"I figured you for a better aim than that."

Sarah swirled round as someone spoke to her, and saw Robin leaning against the wall. She instantly leapt backwards, curling her hands to release her claws, landing gracefully a good distance away from him. Robin walked towards her, extending his staff as he went, maybe this would help him calm down. Although looking at Blackcat it looks like he wasn't the only one that had had a rough day. "So what's up with you, run out of museums to rob?" He teased, quickly raised his staff as she leapt at him, claws out. "No," she smirked back, pushing off and backing away, circling slowly, "Broke a nail?" Robin tried, lashing out at her ankles with his staff but she easily jumped over it. "What about you?" Blackcat countered, "Have a domestic with Batman did you, that why you're on your own?" leaping out of the way of a bird-a-rang. As she reached out with her claws again Robin grabbed her by the wrist, spinning her round and pushing her towards the wall, trying to trap her against it but Blackcat brought up her feet, shoving back into him instead, knocking him down and forcing him to let go. "Not bad." Robin said. He had to admit it, she was pretty good. "Not so bad yourself" Blackcat panted. They were both a little breathless by now. "Sorry to cut this short but I've got other criminals to catch tonight" jibed Robin. At this all amusement left Blackcat's voice. "That's really all you think I am? Fine." Then she ran at the edge and leapt off into space. "Wait!" Shouted Robin, she had lost her zipline at the bank, if she didn't catch something… But then the familiar sound of a metal line hitting the opposite building led his eyes to Blackcat swinging away, holding a red and yellow zipwire handle. Confused Robin checked his belt, only to find his line gone, picked off during the fight. "Great, how do I tell Batman she got another one off me?"

- The next night –

Sarah slipped into her Blackcat suit again, the quicker she managed to get all this over with the quicker she could just get back to normal again. It had been a tense day at school, she had had no desire to try to patch things up with Dick, her mood had not been improved by her encounter with Robin. It had been almost fun trading banter with the boy wonder but in the end she was just a criminal to him and she knew it. Sneaking out the window she headed towards one of the warehouses along the docks where a new shipment had just come in. She should really wait for it to be old news as any new artifacts were likely to be better watched but she really needed this tonight, anything to try and detach herself from this simmering anger.

Robin and Batman were on stakeout again. It was just another shipment off just another ship but they had no leads and it felt much better than just doing nothing. Richard in particular was happy to have even a chance at action tonight, Sarah had been ignoring him again, he didn't even know what had got her so mad, so he thought stealing was wrong it wasn't really a newflash she was just so touchy recently. There was a rustle of fabric as Batgirl joined them. It wasn't that Batman thought they needed the backup but after a few flirtatious encounters between Blackcat and Robin, Batgirl didn't want to miss a chance to tease him. "Robins new girlfriend show up yet?" She asked, peering down at the storage containers below. Robin opened his mouth to retort but Batman silenced them both with a look, down below a dark shadow flitted between the containers. Without another word the three vigilantes split up and began to close in. They weren't going to lose her again.

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Well? How was it? I was going to have more stuff happen but then the scene on the roof went on much longer that I thought it would. I know my banter is terrible, it was supposed to be a sort of rivalry thing, kind of like Catwoman and Batman but less intense but I'm worried it kind of fell flat a bit. Oh well.

Next chapter things should start to really happen, now I really need to do that work I've been ignoring to do this. See ya!


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry, it has been ages since I last updated I know. A huge thanks to rewievers and those that are following, it makes me feel great that people want to come back for more. =^.^=

Its a bit shorter this time but quite an important chapter. Anyway enough from me, here it is. :)

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-Warehouse at the Docks-

Blackcat slinked between the containers, heading towards the one that had just arrived. As she reached towards her belt for the tools she needed to get in, the mechanical ears on her head twitched, Blackcat froze as she tried to locate the sound, cursing herself for not paying attention. Normally she would have been much more alert but she wanted nothing more that to get this done. Casting around she leapt backwards as a red figure swooped down from the top of a stack of crates. Turning to run Blackcat saw Batgirl blocking the space she had come through, an attempt to fire a zipline upwards was knocked away by a bat-a-rang thrown by Batman. Great. Thinking quickly Blackcat tackled Robin, diving into his chest, knocking them both to the ground. As Robins back hit the ground Blackcat turned her dive into a roll, landing in a crouch on the far side of robin. Springing to her feet she sprinted towards the stairs, heading upwards. The pounding of feet behind her told Blackcat that Robin was only a few steps behind her. Out of the corner of her eye Blackcat saw Batgirl swinging towards her on a zipline, leaping upwards Blackcat caught the rungs of the next level of stairs by the tips of her fingers. In one smooth motion she was able to swing herself up and over the bars, landing her right next to the roof exit door. Bursting through Blackcat ran across the roof, heading for the service ladder since her only zipline lay discarded down below. Just as she passed a pillar dark arms reached out, completely encircling her and pinning her arms to her side. Blackcat lashed out with her feet, only to be lifted completely of the ground by the strength of her captor. The man holding her turned round to face his two young helpers, keeping Blackcat firmly restrained.

"You alright Robin?" Said Batman, glancing over. Blackcat followed his gaze and saw that Robin had three deep scratches along his cheek; she must have caught his face when she tackled him in the warehouse.

"Fine." He replied curtly, reaching into his belt to take out a pair of handcuffs. Seeing this Blackcat struggled even harder, desperate to get away. Just as Robin approached Blackcat managed to reach her wrist with her opposite hand and pressed the new set of buttons she had installed into her glove. The pack she was wearing on her back started to hum and vibrate, Robin stopped a pace away from her, concerned. "What the…" Before he could do anything about it the jet pack activated fully and a jet of heat burst out of the exhaust, forcing Batman to let go or risk some serious damage. As soon as she was released Blackcat shot up into the sky.

"Better luck next time, try keeping up with me now." She taunted at the Bat team before racing away over the Gotham skyline.

-Next day, at school –

Sarah was exhausted. The jetpack had been much harder to control than she had expected but she was glad she had taken it. The Bats had been trying to close in on her so she had to make sure she always had a trick up her sleeve. They'd probably have the Batjet on standby next time so she would have to have a route planned through small building gaps. Maybe she should just kick it in for a while, give everyone a chance to cool off. If nothing else the close call had helped her burn off her anger at Richard. It was a good thing that he didn't like crime, she was starting to get disgusted with it herself but she didn't have a choice, and she did get such a rush from careering around the city at night. Well, that was a problem for another day, for now she was at school, she would hang out with Dick and just not think about stealing or Bats at all. Just then Sarah heard Dicks voice coming from the doorway, she headed over to talk to him but stopped dead when she saw him. Or more accurately, when she saw the three deep scratches down his cheek, right where Blackcat had scratched Robin.

-After School-

"Hey Sarah, wait up" Dick chased after her, grapping her by the elbow. "Hey, what's up?" Sarah span around, wrenching her arm away.

"How did you get those scratches?" Dick was confused, that's why she had been so distracted all day?

"Just an accident, a shelf fell down and some stuff fell on me. No big deal." Why did it matter, and why did she look so upset.

"Would you lie to me Dick? You told me that you'd tell me everything about you, so are you hiding anything from me?" Sarah wasn't even thinking straight. It was perfectly fair for him to not tell her that he was Robin. It wasn't a secret identity for nothing but still… If he just said he had something he couldn't tell her, that would be fine, she could understand that. It would be one thing to hide something but if he lied right in her face…

"I'm not hiding anything Sarah, I wouldn't hide anything important from you."

Without another word Sarah turned and ran.

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Well, what do you think?

Should have quite a lot coming up in the next month and a bit because, once again, fanfic writing has become a viable option to studying for my exams. .

Speaking of which I have revision questions to do. Hope you enjoyed it.


	5. Chapter 5

So I have an important test on monday so am I revising, no I'm writing fanfiction. Go figure. Anyway here you go, let me know what you think. Pretty please. O_O

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-Gotham, at night-

Sarah had returned to her favorite training spot, back on the top of the semi-constructed building, but she wasn't in any mood to train tonight. She was sitting on the edge of the central block with the roof only a few feet below her, dangling her legs over the lip. What was she going to do? She hadn't even thought about what she had been saying, how was she going to justify flipping out at him like that? Was she even going to try? Maybe it would just be easier to avoid him altogether, but she wouldn't be able to do that forever. She slowly twirled one of her shuirkens round in her fingers, staring at the metal as it caught the amber glow of city lights. Her thoughts had been going round in circles for hours and were going nowhere. Flicking her wrist she tossed the shuriken at the wooden pole below, striking it dead centre. Typical, just as she got really good at what she was trying to do, she really didn't want to do it anymore.

"Well you've improved." Said a cocky voice from behind her. Blackcat whipped her head round to see Robin standing on the other side of the roof, arms crossed across his brightly coloured chest and leaning nonchalantly against a beam.

"What do you want?" She spat, turning away and drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She really didn't want to see Robin, no, Dick right now.

"Ouch, kitty has claws. What's got you so riled up." Robin sauntered over to Blackcat and flopped down beside her, swinging his legs freely in the air in front of him. Blackcat sighed, wanting nothing more than to ignore him. She kept her face turned firmly away from the Boy Wonder. Robin stayed silent, just sitting by her hoping that she would relent.

"How do you do it?'

"Huh?" Robin had got so absorbed in the quiet that he hadn't been listening.

"How do you live two lives? I mean," Blackcat stuttered trying not to reveal anything "Since you wear a mask it must be to hide a secret identity so how do you keep it up? How can you lie to people you care about day after day?" Blackcat trailed off into silence, looking out over Gotham city. Suddenly seeming far less hostile and more dejected than anything else. Robin figured he knew what was going on, she must have someone she was having to lie to about who she was. He was completely wrong but that's not the point.

"I remember who I'm doing it for." He explained. "I'm fighting to try and protect everyone in Gotham, so that people don't have to be afraid anymore. If anyone knew who I was, if any of the villains knew that they knew, they'd be a target and I would have done that. Or if a villain ever found out my identity it would put everyone I know and love at risk. It would be much easier for me to tell them, and maybe they do want to know but they aren't a part of this world and I don't want to be the one to force them into it. I want them to be safe. If that means carrying the burden alone then that's how it has to be." Blackcat looked over at Robin. He wasn't looking at her anymore, he was staring out over the city, looking as thoughtful as she had earlier. Maybe lying to her had hurt him more than she realized.

"I guess. I suppose I should think about why I'm doing this." She mused. Robin shifted uncomfortably next to her.

"Batman and I, you know, we did try to track you down, still are really," Blackcat stiffened, what had they learnt? "So we found that everything you took is supposedly stolen already. I don't expect you to explain yourself tonight but I figure, in some way, maybe you're trying to do the right thing for someone. Certainly from what I've seen you're not a bad person and…" It was Robin's turn to trail off awkwardly. If it had been any lighter Blackcat might have noticed the pink blush peeking out from under his mask.

"Thanks Robin. That means a lot more than you know." Blackcat said as she uncurled and hopped down to the rooftop. "I hope we can meet on better terms more often." Blackcat had a strange smile on her face, as though she had settled some matters within her own mind. She leapt down between the buildings, disappearing into the night, leaving behind a rather confused Robin, who wasn't quite sure if he had done the right thing. He should really have at least tried to arrest her but still, there was something about her. She couldn't be much older than him, and maybe he could get her to come around and stop being a criminal on her own accord.

-Gotham Marine Exhibition-

Robin flipped over backwards, dodging the blasts that one of Penguins goons was sending his way. As he reached the wall he leapt against it and pushed off upwards, soaring over the line of fire and crashing into the goon as he tried to change his aim. Glancing around he saw Batman and Batgirl in similar situations, leaving Penguin free to steal the crystal penguin statue that was the centerpiece of the conservation section. "Heh Heh Heh, you can't stop me now Batman." Gloated Penguin, turning to face the Bat team. He turned back to the pedestal, only to find it completely empty. "What, no, it was right here." His pudgy hands flailed over the spot where the statue had been, frantically searching for his prize. Robin tackled the goon hampering Batman, allowing the Dark Knight to break away and hurtle after Penguin. With a squeal Penguin scuttled out the door, firing smoke out of the end of his umbrella. Coughing, Batman fell back, drawing his cloak over his face. When the smoke cleared Penguin was long gone, and the statue was safely back on its spot.

This hadn't been the first time that there had been peculiar help for the Bats, nor did they expect it to be the last. Lights going off, targets disappearing and then reappearing when it was safe, ropes being cut and so on. It wasn't a difficult puzzle to solve, ever since Robin's talk with Blackcat there had been no more thefts by the young cat burglar and the stealthy help had begun. So it was safe to assume their helper was Blackcat. Despite Batman's best attempts to convince her, Blackcat had neither talked to them or stopped her vigilante work, she was still a wanted criminal so it would be better if she just disappeared but she never lingered at a scene long enough to try and persuade her.

Blackcat slowly wound her way around the roofs of the financial district. She had felt so much better since she started helping the Bats instead of stealing. It could still help her to do the same thing but maybe this way was better. She also felt that she could understand Dick much more now, knowing what he did and why, she found she couldn't stay mad at him. They had patched things up after her outburst, brushing it off as a bad day and coming to an unspoken agreement not to bring it up again. Somehow it all felt good again, things hadn't been better for a long time. Her normal life was back on track and her other life… Sarah's train of thought was broken as her ears picked up the intruder alarm at a bank… well her other life finally felt like she was getting it right.

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Well there you go. I like this chapter so much more than Chapter 4, i might go redo that at somepoint. But that isn't the end yet. Next chapter starts to get dramatic, in theory. I keep changing how much I fit into a chapter but anyway, please keep reading and make sure to tell me how I can make it better. =^.^=


	6. Chapter 6

No reviews for the last chapter. :( This makes me sad.

But I really wanted to get this next bit out so here it is, hope I've done it justice, it's so much cooler in my head but with any luck you'll like it anyway. :)

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-Gotham Bank rooftop-

Blackcat leapt onto the roof of the bank that the alarm was ringing in. Just as she landed two robbers burst out of the fire escape door. "How boring," she thought, slipping out of sight behind a water tank as the Bat trio poured out after them. It only took a few moments for Batman and Robin to tackle a robber each and lash their hands behind them. Blackcat sneaked a glance over at Robin, he always looked so strong in himself when he was working. He was very close to the tanker, only a few meters away from her. Sarah made to move away, there was nothing here they needed help with, two standard robbers and Batgirl waiting in the wings. Just as she turned a glint of metal in the shadows caught her eye, the barrel of gun. Quickly she flicked her hand up to her mask, pressing one of the switches, instantly the film in her mask changed to a filter and she could see clearly into the shadows. What she saw made her breath catch in her throat, there was a third robber ready to cover their escape and his gun was pointed straight at Dick.

"NOOO!" Sarah couldn't stop herself crying out. Robin turned round, looking for the source of the noise, only to be tackled to the ground by Blackcat flying at him. Just as she hit into him the loud crack of a gunshot rang out across the rooftop. After that everything happened in a blur of motion. Robin rolled with the fall and leapt to the side, dragging the helpless robber out of the line of fire, leaving Blackcat to fend for herself. Batman hurtled over to the man with the gun, wrenching it out of his hand. Batgirl started going over to help but paused when she saw Blackcat, instead of retreating behind cover she was still lying where she had fallen after pushing Robin down. Batgirl bent over her, wondering what was wrong and gasped as she saw what sort of state Blackcat was in. Blackcat's face was covered in sweat, her hand clasped against her side trying to stem the flow of blood spreading from a bullet wound under her ribs.

"Oh no, Batman, BATMAN!" Batgirl yelled, leaning over Blackcat, adding her hands to the pressure over the wound.

"Is he all right?" Blackcat whispered, her voice barely carrying.

"What?" Asked Batgirl, still distracted by her attempts at First Aid.

"Is Dick all right?" It came out as almost a scream, desperation slipping into her voice. Batgirl blanched, how could she know? What should she say? "Please.." Blackcat pleaded, moving to grab Batgirls arm, her voice growing weaker as her eyelids starting to flutter closed.

"Yeah," said Batgirl, knowing she had to keep Blackcat calm, "He's fine, you saved him."

"Good, I'm glad I could… do something." Batman came over at that moment, just in time to see Blackcat's head flop forwards as she fainted.

-The Batcave-

Light slowly filtered through into Blackcat's vision through half lidded eyes. She lay still; trying to assess what was going on around her, all her senses felt oddly fuzzy. There were some vague sounds, muffled arguments between two, no three people. It was difficult to even think, she couldn't remember what had happened, she stirred slightly sending a spike of pain through her ribs. In a flash it all came rushing back, the roof, Robin, the gun. Her eyes shot open as she sat up quickly, casting around to see where she was. The pain instantly made her double over.

"Hey, hey, easy there. Don't move around, it'll open up again." Robin had hurried over to her side, concern etched on his face. Looking around Blackcat saw that she was lying on a bed in a huge cavern with screens on every wall and tunnels stretching off into the darkness, high above bats fluttered about the roof on their way back in to roost. It had to be the Batcave, these guys took their personas way to seriously. She glanced down at the hand she had subconsciously place against her wound, the lower part of her torso was wrapped in clean white bandages underneath her usual top, which now had a ragged hold surrounded by dark stains. The sight of her own blood covering her made the bile rise in her throat. She pushed Robin away and turned to the other side, trying desperately not to throw up. Once the feeling had passed Blackcat gazed back over at the three other people in the cave. Robin was still crouched by her side, Batman was brooding over by the computer and Batgirl was sitting next to him, watching her carefully.

"So," she said, steadying her voice, "What happens now?"

"What do you mean?" Batman asked.

"Well there must be some reason that I'm waking up in the fabled Batcave rather than in a hospital with a full police guard ready to arrest me. I just wanted to know what it was." Blackcat shrugged as she swung her legs over the side of the camp bed, wincing slightly at the movement but determined to keep a bold front on. She rested her hands on the metal edges, looking around at the Bats, noticing the way they all seemed reluctant to bring it up. She looked straight at Robin, being nearest, and waited for an answer. He turned his masked face to look at her, the white patches narrowing in suspicion.

"You're here because of what you said to Batgirl, just before you passed out." Robin stood up fully, looking down right into her concealed eyes. Blackcat clapped a hand to her mouth, how could she have forgotten? How could she have been so careless as to let that name slip out? "She told us what you called me. You're here because you called me Dick, and we want to know why." The three heroes all stood in silence, waiting to hear what explanation Blackcat was going to give. The thief said nothing, breaking her gaze with Robin and staring instead at the floor.

"Blackcat," It was Batman who spoke now "Whether you have Robins identity right or wrong we need to know more right now. You could end up putting some innocent boy in danger if you are wrong, or yourself if you are right. Do you have any idea what some of Gotham's criminals might do if they even thought they knew our identities? I need you to tell me who you are, and how much you know." He had been careful, Blackcat noticed, not to admit that Dick was Robin's true identity but all four present knew that there was no real reason to dodge around it, she knew who he was. But that didn't mean she was going to tell Batman anything.

"I'm not telling you anything, my life is my business, and I owe you nothing Batman." The fire in her eyes and her voice was unmistakable. This was someone backed into a corner, and when it came to flight or fight, she chose to fight. It was Batgirl who piped up next.

"With a bit of effort it won't take much to find out anyway. I mean we couldn't take off your mask while you were out of it, because of the biosignature lock on it. Only you can remove it. Having access to that kind of tech will narrow it down by itself, and then there's tonight," she continued, moving over from the computers to stand by Batman a few steps away from the bed, "Just wanting to help us wouldn't make you take a bullet for someone, that means you're close to who you think Robin is. Close enough to risk dying for him." Batgirl looked like she was going to continue but Robin gestured for her to stop with a subtle movement of his green-gloved hand. His gaze was fixed on Blackcat, his brow furrowed as though he was thinking hard. When was it Sarah had started acting odd? She had been so defensive over Blackcat and then when she had seen his scratches the night after the fight… He sank to one knee again, putting his face on a level just below Blackcat's, looking up to catch her eye.

"Blackcat." He said, his voice much softer now. She lifted her gaze again, matching his. "Blackcat will you take off your mask for me." It was clear to Sarah, he had guessed it. But he wouldn't fully believe it until he saw her face behind the mask. Batman and Batgirl stood silently at the side, not quite understanding what was passing between the two teenagers but having the sense not to intrude. With eyes for no one but Dick, Blackcat raised her hands to the black mask that covered her face, the tiny sensors that connected it to her skin registered the combined physical and neurological signals that triggered the release of the thin metal sheet. Lowering her hands to her lap Sarah Kacy met Dicks eyes, tears brimming in her own as he removed his mask too, revealing the face she had come to know so well. Everything that she had gone through since becoming Blackcat, and the shock from all that had happened that night overwhelmed her and she burst into tears. Dick could do nothing more than wrap his arms around his girlfriend, knowing that Batman would need answers from her sooner or later but for now Dick would just comfort her, and wait for her to be ready to tell him everything.

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So there it is. The secrets are out now. What do you think is going to happen next? I've already got it planned but I'd love to hear your guesses, or just comments on the plot or writing style in general.

Anything really, it's just great to know people have read it. :D

Its revision week for my first year uni finals now, so I should be revising a lot, yeah right. But maybe with reviews I'll be motivated to do this instead of re-reading manga again. :)

Ah well, see you all next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

Okay so here is chapter seven, sorry it took so long to get out. Had to put fanfics on hold over the actual exams at least (i got the marks back the other week, don't even ask i really need to revise more .) Then I was moving out of my university halls then I was on camp for two weeks with no computer. Anyways you probably don't really care so I'll stop rambling now.

Also thanks to swirlhearty23 who has reviewed after almost every chapter

And thanks to my new reviewer Leahisasuperhero, glad you like it. :D

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-The Batcave-

Sarah sat on the camp bed, still in full costume apart from her mask, which lay discarded on the floor. Dick was sitting on her right with his hand lying on top of hers. He had just finished explaining to Batman who Sarah was, and all eyes had now turned to her, waiting.

"Well I guess it started about 6 months ago, just after my dad moved us to Gotham. He's the CEO of K-Core so when the office got transferred we came too. I overheard him on the phone a few times, and some of the younger staff had raised questions about missing funds and backroom deals. I thought nothing of it but after a while I realized that all those staff had either been fired or just disappeared, since my dad works from home a lot I thought it wouldn't hurt to… to look into it." Sarah's voice began to catch a little, but she soon steadied it. "I found out all this stuff he was up to, funding crime rings, laundering money, backing up his own men within the company. But I couldn't get any evidence for it and… and I didn't want him to get sent to prison, it wouldn't make any difference to him." A derisive edge had come into her voice, "He'd probably just end up in charge of all the nutcases there. So I figured the best way to stop him would be to make it so no-one would do business with him, by taking anything that they got with his help. Dad always thought I might get kidnapped or something so I'd had loads of self defense training in about seven different practices and I've always been a good gymnast, it didn't seem like it would be too hard to turn that to cat burglary, especially with all the tech I could take and modify from the research labs at K-Core. I thought that he might just give up and let it go." Her voice trailed off into silence as she stared at the far wall, lost in her own thoughts.

"People like that never let go." Batman broke the silence, looking straight at Sarah. "They get a taste of what they can do and let it eat away at them until there is nothing left." Sarah was on the brink of crying again but roughly wiped her gloved arm across her eyes to clear them. She had been emotional enough for one night.

"I know that." She snapped, "It doesn't mean I'm not going to try and save my own dad though does it, no matter what he's done." The defiance had come back to her voice now, and her eyes were clear and fierce again. "I'm not stupid though. I saw that it wasn't making any difference but I just kept going anyway. I had to be doing something or I was just going to lose it. It was then that Robin talked to me about what he does," Sarah glanced over at Dick, smiling, "I realized that it wasn't about me anymore. I'd found what I could do and then he showed me how I could do it right, I haven't regretted it since I started trying to help you guys. Even though you told me to stop I felt it was my choice, so here I am."

Batman sighed and raised a hand to his forehead where he felt a headache coming on, he recognized that tone of voice and the gleam in her eyes. He had seen it in Barbara when she persisted in vigilante work and he had seen it in Richard when he stood up to Zucco. It went against all his better judgment to even consider letting another child put themselves in harms way. He could probably persuade her to take it easy until her wound had healed up but once it had, then things were going to get interesting.

-Jokers Hideout, some months later-

Batman crashed through the door of Jokers latest lair, following the trackers in Robin and Batgirls utility belts. Casting around he saw the two belts lying in a heap on the floor with Joker standing over them.

"Well Batsy, that took you longer than I expected. Maybe you're getting slow." Batman glared silently at the pale-faced clown, not in the mood for banter of any sort. He had arrived at the scene of a robbery that his two partners had been taking care of only to find neither crooks or crusaders, and the trademark Joker playing card left in plain view on the destroyed wall left him in no doubt as to who had been responsible. He cursed himself again as he glanced around the old factory looking for the pair, he would never let them tackle Joker alone but it had just looked like a simple job. Joker's manic grin vanished; becoming a displeased frown as he realized Batman wasn't listening to him. Reaching out he flicked a switch on the wall next to him, turning on two spotlights at the other end of the otherwise darkened room, revealing Batgirl and Robin firmly bound to iron girders embedded in the floor. Both were struggling furiously against their restraints and showed no sign of serious injury but it still angered Batman to see them in that state.

"No maybe we can get down to business Batman." Sneered Joker as he pulled another switch out of the pocket of his coat. "See this little button here is set up to detonate a rather large pile of dynamite, buried just under your little friends feet, so if you want them to be safe," Joker raised his thumb threateningly. Batman looked down the room again, if he made any move at all Joker could easily press the button before Batman was able to stop him and there was no way he could reach and release the pair of sidekicks before the bomb exploded. Joker was enjoying this, he watched as Batman stood frozen by indecision, he loved having power like this over the Dark Knight. Just as Joker opened his mouth again to gloat some more Batman lunged at him, managing to grab the detonator and push the villain to the ground, all in one swift flap of black cape. Furious Joker yelled at the Bat, "Fool, that wasn't even the real detonator, and your precious sidekicks will…" Joker found himself at a loss for words, he had looked at the girders where the two young heroes had been, ready to watch as he blew them to pieces, only to see nothing more than a pile of ropes left abandoned in the dust. Before he had the chance to work out what had happened a large gloved fist smacked into the side of Jokers head. The fight didn't last long after that, as usual it was a quick matter for Batman to overpower the deranged clown. Looking around it didn't take more than a moment to locate three diminutive figures standing around a pile of unconscious goons.

"Well, maybe you can be useful sometimes but I still don't think this is a good idea." Batman said, walking over to where Blackcat stood removing the last strands of rope from her glove-claws. It had of course been her who had slipped in through a vent on the roof after Batman had told her where he was headed and cut the other two free before helping them take on the lackeys. It was the first time that she had seen some action since being shot and she was glad to see that the light training she had had in the Batcave had been enough to keep her skills up. Blackcat just grinned up at him, she was still exhilarated from the nights event and eager for the physical rush of fight or flight over rooftops, which she suddenly realized she might have to do as Gothams police force burst in the door, reminding her she was still pretty far up the wanted freaks list.

"Blackcat," said Commissioner Gordon in a loud, clear tone, "You are under arrest for multiple counts of breaking and entering, theft and resisting arrest."

Robin stepped closer to her, putting his back against hers so that she only needed to focus on her front, but considering that was still around nine armed policemen who were on full alert and between her and the exit it still wasn't the best situation to be in.

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Dun dun dun. I should maybe stop leaving my chapters on tense moment. Oh well I find it more fun. :)

So as usual please review, let me know what you think of the plotline, writing style anything really. I'd really like to know. I'm on holiday for 3months now so I should finish this soon and maybe even start another.

There might only be one more chapter of this, the end of my first online fanfic is in sight, how exciting :)


	8. Chapter 8

Okay so that took so much longer than I though it would, my bad. Anyway so this should be the penultimate chapter. It was going to be the last one but then I realised it was the longest chapter yet (over 1900 words) and I still had a fair chunk to go.

So here it is, chapter 8.

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- Joker's Hideout-

Blackcat curled her hands back into fists, eyes flicking from one face to the next as she looked for an opening in the circle of policemen.

"Commissioner," Batman interrupted, stepping through the ring to stand beside Gordon, "Could I have a word." Batman pulled him to one side, talking rapidly in hushed tones. Blackcat was still on edge, no-one in the standoff was moving, if it weren't for Robin's reassuring hold on her wrist she would probably have made a break for it long before now. Her mechanical ears were perked up, trying to catch what Batman was saying but she couldn't make out the exact words. Her tail flicked backwards and forwards, automatically responding to her nerves despite all her efforts to look calm and controlled. The adrenaline was pumping through her and it took all her self-control not to fly at the police, but she trusted Batman far more than she had previously realised, so she waited and hoped he would get her out of this.

"Are you sure Batman? Some people would do anything to try and get your trust, she could be trying to trick you." Gordon looked genuinely concerned.

"Believe me Commissioner that girl is not a threat to Gotham any more, quite the opposite." Gordon's eyebrows were still crossed in a skeptical scowl. Batman hesitated but knew that it was the best way to convince Gordon. "Jim, Robin owes her his life, and it nearly cost Blackcat her own." Looking at the Batman's face, even with the trademark cowl, it was clear to Gordon that Batman was adamant on Blackcat's change of heart. He gave a deep sigh and rubbed his forehead with one hand. Glancing over at his men and the two young people they were watching, Gordon came to a decision.

"All right Batman, I'll trust your judgment." He turned away from the Dark Knight and went back over to his men. "Stand down." The policemen in the circle looked at him briefly, reluctant to take their eyes off Blackcat for too long. "I said stand down." Repeated Gordon, his voice hard with authority. Robin relaxed against Blackcat, he saw Batman in the background and the way he stood made it clear that it would be all right. Blackcat felt the change in tension around the room and lowered her hands, loosening off so as to not risk seeming a threat. She stepped forward towards Gordon, keeping her pace slow and even. Robin turned to watch but stayed back, he knew that he couldn't interfere at this point. "Blackcat." Said the Commissioner, keeping clear eye contact with the former thief, "Batman has told me that you have been under his care for the last few months, that you have been trying to help him and his team in their work. In light of this, and of your age, I have agreed to give you amnesty for your past crimes." The other officers in the room shifted awkwardly, clearly unsure about his decision. "However," he continued, "I do this out of respect for Batman and all he has done for the city, not out of trust for you. That has to be earned. But for now I leave you under Batman's charge, I hope you do not abuse this chance you have been given. You will not be given another. Is that clear?"

Blackcat kept looking him right in the eye, a grin spreading across her face at the slightly warm glint she saw there. "Yes sir, I won't let you down."

- Gotham High, Prom night –

Sarah sat at the edge of the dance hall, a glass of punch gripped tightly in her hand. It had been nicely chilled when Dick had got it for her but that had been some time ago. She crossed her legs, tugging down the black dress she was wearing. It had been several weeks since Commissioner Gordon had given her the okay to fight with the Bats and at first it had been great, she felt wonderful being able to do something useful, and it was really a way she could spend time with Dick. Sighing, she took another sip of her lukewarm drink. More and more it felt like she wasn't Dick she was spending time with but Robin. Even outside of vigilante work she felt further and further away from her boyfriend, every time they tried to have some time together something would always come up.

Now that she knew about Dick's double life it amazed Sarah how easily he could get away when he needed to, and how easily people would believe whatever they were told. Her stomach flipped and he put her drink down. She wasn't thirsty anymore. That was something else that had been eating away at her, all the lying she had to do to her friends constantly. When she had been a thief she always went out at night and she could easily explain it away, even when she was just shadowing the Bat team she could still choose much more easily when she went out but now… now she was at Batman's beck and call, or that's what it felt like. Leaning back Sarah rested her head against the wall, closing her eyes as she did. It wasn't even that that was bothering her, although it wasn't exactly a walk in the park, it was the way Dick was acting these days. It was as though now that he didn't have to hide that he was Robin he didn't want to talk about anything else. At first it was understandable, she didn't mind, after all apart from the rest of the Bat team there was no one else Dick could talk to about this so she was happy to listen. But it had been almost two months and he hadn't taken her on a date without a stakeout or recon involved in some way.

The music changed from the quiet slow song to a fast loud pop tune, jerking Sarah out of her thoughts. Even tonight, prom night, Dick had gone off to take a call from Batman over half an hour ago and still hadn't returned. Well enough was enough. Sarah stood up, her short black dress slipped back down to just above her knees. She had made so much effort tonight to try and look special. Her dress was made of black, shimmering fabric with a scooped neckline leading to two thin shoulder straps. The whole dress hugged her figure as it slipped down over her hips to a fringed hemline that led the eyes down her bare legs to black heels with gold buckles round the ankles and yet it didn't seem to have made any difference. Within ten minutes of arriving Dick had scuttled off to answer his phone, he never turned the thing off, couldn't he get just one night free. Sarah marched across the dance floor, not even noticing the looks she gathered as other dancers had to step out of her way. Striding into the hall she looked around for Richard, spotting him along the corridor still murmuring into his phone. She stood there with her arms folded, tapping her foot impatiently waiting for him to notice her.

Richard turned round at the faint, repetitive clicking noise he heard behind him. Standing outside the doors to the hall was Sarah with a very unimpressed look on her face. He suddenly realised that he must have been on the phone for much longer than he thought, Batman had been giving him the details of a new case and, as was Batman's way, he had been making sure to include every point several times to make sure Dick fully understood. Covering the mouthpiece with one hand he quickly whispered to Sarah, "I'm sorry, just give me another minute Bruce should finish soon." He turned away again and tried to get a word in edgeways to bring it to a close, but Bruce never really listened to him once he had got started on a brief and Dick began to slip back into Robin mode of just waiting for his orders. Eventually Dick was able to close his phone and returned his attention to his girlfriend, who was looking outright angry with him now. "Sorry," he said again, "Bruce was filling me in on a case he and Batgirl are heading out to later, letting me know when he'd need us." Sarah's whole body language changed, her folded arms slid apart and fell to her sides, her head tilted forward so that her hair fell across her face, shielding it from Dick's view.

"We're doing a case tonight?" She asked, her voice quiet and emotionless.

"Well yeah, I mean it's just a dance so I figured that it wouldn't be much of a problem if we had some Blackcat and Robin time instead of just Sarah and Dick." He replied, shrugging his shoulders and moving towards her. He reached out to touch her shoulder, confused as to why she wasn't looking at him. Without warning her head snapped up again.

"Really!" she yelled "Really, that's all this is to you? Are you really that clueless, haven't you realised that's all the time we've had lately? Do you even remember that I'm your girlfriend or have I just become another stupid sidekick?" Sarah's voice was getting louder as she poured out everything that had been building up over the past weeks. Ignoring the stares from the students near the hall door she glared at Richard, her eyes brimming with tears. "Not even one night. Not one! You have me lying to my friends, spending every spare minute racing all over Gotham with you and…" Sarah's rant was cut off by Dick's hand hastily covering her mouth.

"Are you nuts?" he hissed as she pulled away from him, tearing her arm out of his grip. Looking about he saw the curious faces coming from the doorway, grabbing her arm again he led her outside, out of earshot of anyone else. "Where the hell did that come from?" he asked as she broke out of his grasp again.

"It's just you Dick. It's like I haven't been with you ever since I got shot." The volume of Sarah's voice dropped as her anger faded into regret.

"But we've been together almost every day, we're always out and about helping Batman and stuff."

"Exactly." Sarah said looking straight into Dicks brown eyes, her voice soft again. "But that's been Robin, I'm not dating Robin, I'm dating you and you seem to have forgotten that." Dick still looked as bemused as ever. "Just forget it. You handle the case alone tonight. I'm sure you don't need me." Sarah turned swiftly away, heading back home along the road.

"Blackcat wait, I don't understand." Dick went after her but stopped in his tracks when she turned around. Her eyes were hard again, but tears were still slipping down her cheeks.

"Think about it Richard." She said, her voice hard and unwavering, "Think about what you just called me, then tell me nothings changed." He looked right at her, fully intending to tell her just that when he realised that he had called her Blackcat, not Sarah. All that she had said that night and the distance that he had felt growing over the past while flashed through his mind. His mouth closed slowly and he turned his head away. When he raised it again, Sarah Kacy was already far down the street. She didn't look back.

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Argh. I take so long to write any relationship stuff and I always seem to hate it but there you go anyway. Next chapter is last chapter!, but will have more relationships stuff too so may take me quite some time.

So I only had one review last chapter (Thanks MeggyMooMoo), maybe I'll have more this time, maybe that will make me write the last chapter quicker. Who knows, only one way to find out.

Anyways**, important bit,** I need to pick which of my fanfics to write next. I have the plotlines of quite a few worked out but not sure which to do. What do you think? Ready to go I have Avatar:The Legend of Aang, Sonic X, Treasure Island and a Naruto (up to where Shippuden starts). I'll give a summary at the end of the next one if anyone cares. Although probably no one does. 'Sigh' :(


	9. Nine lives but one life  End

AHHH! Its finished. So hyped right now, though that might be to do with my leaving for a two week sailing holiday, amazing how deadlines focus the mind. I really wanted to have this all finished before I went and I have. With about 15 minutes before I have to leave. Still its done, thats the important thing right?

Anyway without anymore babble here is the end of A New Mask in Town. :)

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- Gotham, after school -

Sarah was lost in thought as she walked along the street, her school bag was slung over one shoulder and she could feel the weight of her costume nestled in the bottom and it wasn't helping her mood. She hadn't spoken to Dick since their fight at the dance and she had no plans to either, she'd had enough.

"Hey Sarah, Sarah!" Jerking out of her thoughts Sarah brought her attention back to her friends. Alice and May had been walking with her on their way home but she had all but forgotten they were even with her. "Are you all right Sarah, you haven't been yourself recently."

"I'm fine," she lied smoothly, "Just been feeling ill recently, and all the stuff with Dick recently, you know." She kept walking along, assuming they would let it drop. It had become so easy to blow them off ever since she had started her double life but it didn't sit well with her, and this time it seemed her best friends wouldn't let her off the hook that easily.

"Come on you've been acting weird for months, there's more to it than that." Alice had stopped walking and was looking straight at her. "We're worried about you, you hardly ever hang out with us, you barely talk, you're always tired and the amount of bruises you have just keeps growing." May pitched in as well, her voice full of concern. "We know you don't want to tell us but you need to talk about it." Neither of the girls missed the way Sarah's shoulders slumped under the scrutiny. They shared a glance, not sure how to help their friend. "Why don't you come out with us tonight?" May suggested, "We were gonna head out to Tasha's party, you should come too, take your mind off whatever it is." Sarah looked at them, fully intending to say no, she hadn't had much time for a social life in a while and a party full of the 'popular' crowd wasn't going to be relaxing in any way. But the genuine looks of worry on the two girls faces melted her resolve, maybe she should get out for a bit. Before she had the chance to second-guess herself she found herself agreeing. They reached the end of the road and went their separate ways. Sarah found a smile creeping across her face, and felt utterly relaxed, until her phone went off with a message from Batman.

- Gotham Backstreets, that night –

Slipping down the dark side street Blackcat was mulling things over in her mind. She had had to call her friends soon after she got home, once again making excuses of family commitments that meant she couldn't go to the party. What she found strangest was that she didn't find herself angry with Batman, she was resigned to her choice now and it was just one of the consequences. Reaching up a metal fire escape above her head she clambered up and perched on the railing, her feet dangling over the drop. According to the message from earlier there was going to be some sort of gang war going on tonight so Batman wanted the whole team spread around the city to try and locate it. Still thinking about how disappointed her friends had sounded Blackcat was only watching one end of the alleyway, and didn't notice the dark figures stealthily enter from behind her.

The group of youths that had been fleeing the gang fight couldn't believe their luck, Blackcat, one of Gothams meddling crime fighters, alone and completely oblivious to their presence. The toughest of them, a tall boy but with thick arms, scooped up a metal pipe. As quietly as he could the boy picked his way through the alleyway and up the stairs towards the dark silhouette of the young girl, and brought the pipe down across her back. Blackcat fell to the ground in a bundle of limbs with a burning pain across her back and crashed onto the pavement below with a thud. Before she had the chance to get her bearings the other four had rushed in and began beating her with fists, feet and whatever they could get their hands on. Normally Blackcat would be more than a match for them but by getting her on the ground first all they had to do was not give her the chance to get up again. The icy water of a puddle began to seep into her clothes as the corners of her vision dimmed as the onslaught of attacks failed to cease for even a moment. Just as she thought that she had no chance of getting away Blackcat heard a scream from the end of the alley. Raising her head slightly Blackcat saw two figures staring at the group, one already reaching for her phone.

"Stop them." The lead youth yelled, "Don't let them get help." Without waiting for more orders all the others boys raced to the pair of girls, grabbing their bags and started to drag them into the sidestreet. Momentarily forgotten, Blackcat stirred where she lay, regaining her senses in time to see one of the boys slap the girl with the phone hard across the face. With a jolt Sarah realized that it was Alice and May. With renewed vigor she leapt at the group, claws sliding out of her black gloves. She sliced at the arms of the two restraining her friends, drawing thin ribbons of blood. With a cry both boys let go, turning their attention back to the cat vigilante. It wasn't a good situation for Blackcat, one of her eyes was already starting to swell up and she ached all over from her beating but she couldn't let her friends become a target. Not for her sake. Knowing that she had to keep the guys occupied for long enough for Alice and May to get away Blackcat didn't attempt to leap up the sides of the alley, instead she turned her claws on the ringleader, hoping to discourage the others if she could take him out. With a swing of his arm and the distinctive clash of metal on metal the boy deflected the attack with a knife he had pulled from his belt. Suddenly it was all a lot more serious, the dim light that filtered in from the streetlamps picked out the bright gleam of the knife, drawing all eyes to it. Alice and May were still quivering in fear against a dumpster, unable to move from where they had been left.

With a sudden swish of fabric and a flash of purple, Batgirl swooped in from above, smashing two of the goons in one go with her staff. Taking advantage of the distraction Blackcat made for the leader again but he reacted just in time to bring up his knife again. Blackcat hissed in pain as the blade ran down her forearm, slicing through the fabric and cutting into her flesh. Batgirl swung around, having already made short work of the remaining thugs and was able to swiftly knock the knife from his hand with a well thrown bat-a-rang. With another shout of pain the boy looked around at the unconscious bodies around him, deciding to cut his losses he turned and fled, Batgirl hot on his heels. Blackcat meanwhile was checking on the two girls, both were still shaking.

- The Batcave -

Blackcat was sitting quietly in the cave, well away from the bright lights of the monitors and half hidden in shadow, she had taken off her mask as soon as she sat down, throwing it to the floor as though frightened of it. Robin was still out following the police cars to make sure that the thugs all made it back to the station with no mishaps and Batgirl was keeping an eye on the cctv cameras for any other trouble. Batman meanwhile, came over to talk to Sarah. When he had heard what had happened at first Batman had been furious that she had left herself exposed like that, causing two innocent bystanders to become involved but one look at her when she got back had been enough to tell him. She knew that already, and she hated herself for it. Batman leaned against a pillar, looking down at the young girl, and it hit him again just how young his helpers were, and waited for her to speak.

"It was my fault." She said eventually, in a quite voice.

"Everyone loses focus at times, just be thankful there was no permanent harm done."

"No, not the fight." She said, her voice becoming more frantic, "They shouldn't even have been there. They left the party early because they were worried about me, they went home by that route to stop by my house and check I was okay. Those guys wouldn't even have bothered them if they hadn't tried to help me." Tears were beginning to spill into Sarah's eyes, she quickly brushed them away but Batman noticed. It was clear to see that it was all becoming too much for her, over the past few months everything was just building up. She had already seen far more darkness than any girl her age should have to see, but he was sure that if he tried to tell her that she would deny it and become even more determined to hide away from the fact. But it was clear in every aspect of her, her shoulders were slumped, her voice becoming more emotionless every time she spoke and the fire that had burned so brightly in her eyes before had almost completely vanished.

"Something's changed recently, hasn't it?" Batman asked, "You were never this unsure before, and this isn't the first time you have seen your friends or family in danger." His mind flicked back to the previous week when Blackcat had seen her father barely escape from a confrontation with one of his, less legal, clients. Sarah sighed and tuned away, clearly thinking hard. Coming to a decision she looked back up at her mentor.

"Batman, there's something I have to tell you."

- Gotham high, end of school day –

"Sarah, Sarah!" A boys voice rang out across the street; not turning Sarah opened the door of the long, black car and made to get in. Before she could a hand closed around her arm, she turned to face the owner, wishing she could have avoided this.

Dick panted as he caught his breath, as soon as Barbara had spoken to him after last class he had hurtled after Sarah, only just catching her. "Is it true?" he asked, "Are you really going." Sarah couldn't look at him, she had hoped to just slip away like any other Friday but it didn't seem like it was going to be that easy.

"Yes." She said simply, but Dick wasn't going to be happy with that. She knew he wouldn't be.

"But why, when did you decide to..."

"I have to Richard." She snapped, interrupting him and whisking her head up to look him right in the eye. "I can't live like this anymore, Dad's getting moved to another city, he said there was a lack of business here." The irony that it was her efforts as Blackcat that had led to this was not lost on Sarah. "I'm going with him, it's a chance to start over, to try again." She started to pull away from him but he tightened his grip.

"You can't Sarah I mean, okay we had a fight but isn't this kinda extreme." Sarah sadly shook her head.

"I'm sorry Dick but it's not just that. I can't put up with this life anymore. It has to stop and if I have to stay here, watching you do all those things, watching Gotham praise its heroes, then I'm never going to be able to move on."  
"But why can't you. I thought you liked being Blackcat."

"I did Dick, but I can't keep doing it, you and Bruce and Batgirl, you all still have someone to fight for, you keep each other strong but I can't be a part of that anymore." Dick tried to speak again but Sarah cut him off. "No Dick, I'm leaving, it's decided, I can't have anything to do with that life anymore, including you."

Without another word Sarah quickly pulled out of his grasp and clambered into the waiting car. Slamming the door shut she closed her eyes, trying not to see the expression on Dicks face. She had made her choice; she couldn't be a superhero forever, so she left.

Dick remained standing on the pavement for a long time. After a while Barbara came over and put her hand on his shoulder. "It was her choice to make Dick," she said in a comforting voice. "If she wanted to get out she had to get right out, if she'd stayed she would have broken."

Dick sighed and started to move down the street, Babs was right of course, he'd thought of leaving the Bat group several times but it wasn't easily done. He looked over his shoulder at the direction the car had left in, before turning back to the dark streets of Gotham city.

~ Fin ~

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Due to the rush to finish there might be a few grammar errors and so on but hopefully you'll forgive me.

So how was it? You know you want to review. (Please?)

Anyways so for the next fanfic there are quite a few ready to go, if you have any preferences let me know.

**Avatar, The legend of Aang** - When a number of earth nation villages are destroyed in the hunt for the Avatar what difference can one young bender make. Once she starts getting involved though things get far more difficult for the fire nation.

**Sonic X** - Maya, the daughter of station squares mayor, has really fallen in love with all the wonderful creatures that have come through from Mobius. But when her father wants to experiment on the Chao what can she do to help.

**Treasure Island** - A young stowaway is found on board the Hispaniola, but when things start to go wrong on board which side will Jake choose, and what dark secrets is he hiding from the rest of the crew

**Naruto** (only ready to Shippuden) - Team Kakashi has a new mission, to drive away a monster that has been targeting a nearby village, but who is this girl that seems to be at the centre of it all, and what makes her so different.

KK, so please tell me, well anything really but most of all I'd like to hear your thoughts on my finished first ever fanfic. :) See you soon.


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